Lax recordkeeping can be deadly issue

OUR VIEW

As the curtain is gradually pulled back on the Tennessee Department of Children's Services, a tableau is revealed that contains mixed images.

The Tennessean and other news organizations around the state are examining 42 DCS files released under court order last week. Among them, there are cases of children's deaths or near-deaths that are thoroughly documented; others have no documentation until months after the events in question. Some cases saw involvement of multiple investigators and caseworkers; others appeared to have received scant attention while being juggled by lone, overwhelmed caseworkers.

A common thread, however, is the failure to keep records up to date - and while in the average business or government office that failure results primarily in waste and inefficiency, in Children's Services the results are that someone's life may be in greater danger, and the ability to bring the perpetrator to justice is irreparably damaged.

Of the 42 files, 25 contain records created more than 30 days after the fact. Some cases undertook investigations that lasted months, but nothing was recorded until after the investigation was completed.

It is not that DCS workers were unaware of the need for good recordkeeping; department policy requires it. But there is good reason to believe that many of DCS' caseworkers were insufficiently trained and did not receive adequate supervisory support.

The hard reality is that Children's Services does not have the margin for error that other agencies enjoy. Nearly half of the 33 deaths and nine near-deaths in the 42 case files were of children younger than 1 year old. Some were beaten, some neglected, some made ill by their parent's substance abuse. These are matters that require diligence, persistence and asking a lot of questions - and not relying on memory alone.

We believe, as Linda O'Neal, executive director of the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth, that "the overwhelming majority of the staff at the Department of Children's Services are there because they want to make a difference in the outcomes for children." But good intentions are only the beginning of the job.

DCS under Commissioner Jim Henry has put a new emphasis on training; that should be accompanied by a new rigor in documentation of casework, and perhaps a better understanding by the caseworkers of the role they play not only in child welfare, but in the justice system.

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Lax recordkeeping can be deadly issue

As the curtain is gradually pulled back on the Tennessee Department of Children's Services, a tableau is revealed that contains mixed images.